15.25 miles of fun

Yesterday was the first day I was "allowed" to run for 2 hours. Finally!!! I was so happy and nervous to go for it. It was a fabulous day for running (btw, most days are)! The sun was shining, kids were at school for the last full day, I had a new playlist put together for the event and the run all mapped out. I had a little funny feeling in my left lower leg that I was hoping wasn't going to be an issue. It wasn't! I just strolled along happily for 2 glorious hours and 4 fabulous minutes. Totalled 15.25 mi. Amazing.

I had lots of fun banter about it with my coach, Nobby. My DH(dear, darn, d#$! husband) called to see how it went and was proud! I was even was compared to my idol on RunningAHEAD, CNYrunner on RA. Wow, she is an awesome 47 yo runner I would love to be more like! Hope to meet her in Boston in April. Dream, dream, dream.

Then my shins started aching. No kidding. Oh crap! RICE to the rescue! I threw in an ibuprofen for good measure. When I woke up I hung my feet off the side of the bed, took a deep breath and prayed. I'm not religious but I figured it wouldn't hurt. Feet on the floor. Stand up. HOORAY! Went out to run 4.7 more miles of fun in the pouring rain. Too fast as usual. Man, am I durable or what?

Skirt Chaser Race Report

Rain, rain, go away! No warm-up because I was being a sissy. I really thought they would delay the start because of the thunder but nooooo! So I had to jump and run to the start. I still can't believe that I managed to PR on the hardest course I ever ran in these conditions. But I did. First of all there was the rain. It stopped after the first half mile or so. Then there were hills! Lots of hills. Thankfully I run hills everyday and I felt pretty strong going up and down. I petered out at one point when no one was near me and was just cruising along. Mistake! I should have continued to push because Stephanie(a 43 yo woman) passed me. Crap! But that got me going and as I went up the next hill I got moving again. Determination(stupidity) goes a long way sometimes. I was disheartened when I realized I was 7th woman overall and 3rd in the 40-44 age group. The winner was 43! But, today I feel invigorated. I haven't peaked. I can keep training and do better. Went for a run this morning with a kick a$$ attitude. I probably(definitely) should have listened to my coach and run easy but I felt like I was still on an adrenaline high(just like Nobby said :o/, he's a smartie pants). But no harm, no foul. I am ready to move forward and keep dreaming about the next race.

Today was the 16th time I've volunteered for Field Day at my kids' elementary school. 16th and last, sad but true. My baby is going to middle school next year. Well, I was so excited and hoping to of course help with a running relay race. No such luck. I ended up helping the "hand ball" groups. OK, after my attitude adjustment (I was all dressed in my running clothes and best race shoes. Damn. Why didn't they pick me? I signed up for the relays!) I realized it was kinda fun. It was pretty much like soccer except you had to only use your hands. No kicking. Well, when a team didn't have enough players, I decided to jump in for some fun and offered to be goalie. Kids all said "Hooray for Mrs. Suvick!" I thought "Sweet!" That all changed when the first evil little 6th grader whacked me with a friggin' hard gym ball in the leg. I blocked it, but I seriously thought I should let the next one fly into the net. Unfortunately, my competitive (aka stupid) side wouldn't let me do that. So, after 9 rotations and 4 teams short a player, I limped off the field covered in welts, after being pummeled by 20 plus balls by wicked 6th grade punks! It was all in fun, I'm sure. NOT!

So, now it was time for my run. I was hungry and it was hot! 82 degrees and humid. Ugh. I head to the park with a plan from the coach to get ready for my big race tomorrow. I had to run 20 min, then do 2 sets of strides and a 2 min tempo run. (For those of you that don't know what this means, look it up. Hey! I'm tired and my husband is waiting upstairs with a beer and a movie.) I did fairly well jogging the first 20 min. Started feeling spunky and ready to go after Rihanna's Disturbia played on my iPod. (That song kinda defines my running lately.) The strides worried me but once I started I thought they were a ton of fun! Very bouncy - like me! Now it was time for the tempo run. I set my Garmin (non-running enthusiasts, look it up!) and took off. I was told not to go all out, so, I held myself back while letting go a little. At 2 minutes BEEP! times up. I was running a 6:07 mile pace! I could have gone faster and ran further. OOooh! CoOOoooliooO! I smiled and got the chills! Wierd, very good feeling. (married couples experience something similar when children are conceived. Maybe.) I'm getting faster and it feels so good. 1 mile jog and back to the car and some icy cold Gatorade! Creepy dude sitting in his car near my car freaks me out. He passed me 3 times while I was running. Ew! I speed off( park speed limit is 25, I go 28mph) to the gym to get my UE bike fix to finish off my workout. I put Disturbia on in the car and sing all the way dreaming of my race tomorrow. I will definitely need a beer and a Benedryl to sleep tonight!

30 Minutes

I did it! I ran for 30 minutes and STOPPED! Whew, that wasn't easy. I went a little too fast for the coaches liking but I think he has accepted that about me now. He hasn't dumped me, so, that is a good sign that he will put up with me. He's had lots of good reasons and opportunities. Just in case he finds this and reads it - Thanks Nobby! You are a tolerant SOLE. I know I spelled it wrong but it is right for us. He is my "solemate." Ya know, like shoes? Running shoes. He just loves to go on and on about them. I just love to buy them!

So, I still had energy to burn after a mere 30 minutes on my soles. So, I hit the gym and did the upper extremity bike for 35 min. I actually arm biked farther that I ran. You should see my "guns"! He! He! I know I still have to explain that addiction but I'm not in the mood. It's 3:30 in the afternoon and I'm stinky. I'm hitting the shower.

What will I do tomorrow?

Hmmm... I think I will go for a run! Surprise! After a few days of this it won't be. You'll think "Oh yeah, she's running AGAIN. Big deal!" Anyway, tomorrow, coach says just to jog an easy 20-30 min. I'm getting ready for a 5K Sat evening, so, I have to take it easy and get ready for that. I'm not supposed to complain and I'm not complaining about him at all but I'll whine. Waaaah! I remember when it was sooooo hard to run for 30 min. Now it is sooooo hard to stop after only 30 min. He is the only reason I haven't run myself into the ground AGAIN. He has saved me from myself. I recently recovered from a hip stress fracture and he rescued me and is trying to keep me on track. So, I'll probably go to the gym and "ride" the upper extremity bike (that's another story. I'm also addicted to the UE bike) to get the rest of my adrenaline "fix". Then I might have to "run" in the pool for 30 min, as a cool down. I'm telling you, I AM ADDICTED. It's no joking matter. I will probably wake up in the middle of the night and think "Damn! It's too early to get up and run!" I'll lay(lie? Idk) there and think about where I will run to make the most of my precious 30 min. A nice big hill maybe. Hmmm....

National Running Day!

Seems like a good time to start blogging about running. Today is June 2nd, National Running Day. I'd never heard of it before today. Then again there are lots of things about running I don't know. I've been running for about 17 months now. Wow. I can't believe how far I've come or how addicted I've become. I still consider myself a newbie. I've got a bit of an attention deficit problem, so, I think it will take awhile for a lot of running info and expertise to sink in. So, I'll probably be a wannabe for a long time. I believe that I can't just do it, I need to know what the heck I'm doing. I have a coach, Nobby Hashizume. He is trying his best to teach me. I live in the Pittsburgh area and he is in Minneapolis. I am a slow learner. He will probably have carpal tunnel syndrome from trying to teach me via the internet what I need to know to succeed. Bless his heart for trying so hard.

My family is a little tired of hearing about my running. I'm really sorry but they are just going to have to tolerate me. I pretty much have my whole year planned around my running. Who wants to go to the Caribbean this winter? Not me! I'd rather go to the NYC Marathon, the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Half Marathon and hopefully, the ultimate vacation spot, the Boston Marathon. I'm also going to run a marathon in Lehigh Valley Pa in Sept and hopefully go to marathon mini prep camp in Boone, NC in Aug. If anyone asks me about running I say "Don't ask if you don't really want to hear about it." I figure it is only fair to give them a warning as to what they are getting into. I'm obsessed. It might have some unhealthy aspects already, but I am not going to let that stop me yet. My husband's already decided that if I get a injury he is driving me to the ER for antidepressants.

Gotta run! More later!